"I have invented a new way of imitating flowers," Mary Delany, a 72-year-old widow wrote to her niece in 1772 from the grand home where she was a frequent guest, having just captured her hostess' geranium's likeness, by collaging cut paper in a nearly identical shade. Novelty rekindled the creative fire her husband's death had dampened. Former pursuits such as needlework, silhouette cut outs, and shell decorating went by the wayside as she dedicated herself fully to her botanical-themed "paper mosaicks."